Skinny Dipping
by Shadows On A Love-Struck Soul
Summary: Merlin thinks he's doind Arthur a favour, but Arthur isn't interested until Merlin mentions he's going swimming. Suddenly Arthur wants to come but he needs all the help he can get. Smut ensues. AXM Slash.


**Skinny Dipping**

The sun had just set behind the hills, staining the sky a brilliant, glowing orange colour, like fire. Arthur watched the sunset, he thought it was beautiful, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Merlin's voice. 'Sire, it's me,'

'Yes Merlin' Arthur answered. 'I know it's you,' Merlin came in and shut the door behind him. He was carrying two rugs and looking very pleased with himself. 'What have you got there?' Arthur asked, curiously.

'Well, I know you've had such a dull day and you're supposed to go to that banquet tonight something or other, and I got you out of it.'

'You what?'

'I got you out of it.' He repeated simply. 'I told Uther that you were exhausted from today's events and you needed some rest before you go hunting tomorrow. He agreed that you could miss the banquet considering how well behaved you have been recently.'

'Wow, well done Merlin,' Arthur said 'so you got me out of an evening of fine food and admittedly dull conversation, but that's beside the point, you got me out of the banquet. The only thing that stopped me from walking right out of that meeting today was the thought of the food tonight and I don't even get that now. Well done Merlin, you really surpassed yourself this time.' One of Arthur's many talents was his biting sarcasm.

'Well, if you don't want to do what I have planned, then I'll tell Uther that you've got over your exhaustion,' Merlin turned to go.

'Wait!' Arthur stopped him. 'What do you have planned?'

Merlin grinned and turned back to Arthur, 'Oh, it was nothing really, I'll go on my own, enjoy your banquet sire,'

'Where are you going on your own?'

'I'm going swimming, in the river,'

'Wait,' Arthur asked, surprised 'you can swim?'

'Yes,' Merlin said, as if it were obvious. 'Why, can't you?'

Arthur shook his head. 'Never been able to,'

They were quiet for a minute, then Merlin broke the silence 'Well, it's lucky you want to go to the banquet then, isn't it.'

Merlin put one of the rugs back in Arthur's cupboard and left. It took Arthur all of five seconds to decide that he wanted to go swimming rather than go to the banquet. He set off after Merlin, making sure he lagged behind a bit, he wanted to see how good a swimmer Merlin was before he asked him for lessons. Arthur could see Merlin when he reached the river, He set down the rug and put his boots on it, then, thinking that nobody was watching, he quickly stripped off his shirt, his neckerchief, his socks, trousers and (Arthur swallowed) his pants.

He stretched, enjoying being so free, before diving into the water and swimming up and down a few times to get used to the cold. When he swam up and down, Arthur could see his butt perfectly through the clear water.

He swallowed again before moving forward and making his presence known.

'Merlin' he called through the quiet.

Merlin looked up, grinned and then swam to the bank where he leaned on the side with his elbows. 'Hello, would you mind if I asked what you were doing here?'

'I came after you, um, do you think you could teach me how to swim?'

'Sure,' Merlin replied, as if it were nothing to him 'just put your clothes over there with mine and get in. I won't look, I promise,' he said, eyes sparkling, one of the things Arthur loved about Merlin was his eyes.

'Why do I need to take all of my clothes off?' he asked, defensively.

'Because it's more fun. It's called Skinny Dipping, it's more fun than normal swimming and besides, having the wet fabric clinging to your legs will only make you colder,'

'Right?' was all Arthur could think of to say 'Don't look or I'll put you in the stocks,'

Merlin laughed, took a deep breath and sank beneath the water. After about four seconds he came to the surface, silently, and watched as Arthur stripped as quickly as possible. Merlin liked the way Arthur's muscles tensed as he pulled his shirt over his head. Quickly, he sank beneath the water again as Arthur turned round and gingerly slipped in.

He didn't have any of the elegance Merlin had as he had dived spectacularly, but it made Merlin smile as Arthur grimaced at the cold water. He kept hold of the side while Merlin swam over to him, and when Merlin swam up and down showing him the different strokes and how to breathe properly and still keep afloat.

Then it was Arthur's turn, he struggled so much with the first one that Merlin had to help him, he made Arthur float on his front. Merlin put one of his hands under Arthur's stomach to keep him up and used the other arm to guide his hands through the water.

'Keep your face in the water, after every fourth stroke you turn your head to the side and breathe in, you then let the air out under water while you're doing the strokes.'

Arthur nodded and tried again, but he couldn't seem to hold his own body afloat, so Merlin made him lie on his back.

'What am I supposed to be doing?' Arthur asked.

'You're supposed to float, drift. I've got my hands under your head; I won't let you go under.' Merlin concentrated on treading water while holding Arthur's head, feeling his hair like soft feathers under the water.

Arthur drifted for about five minutes when Merlin let his mind wander to other things, like the moment when Arthur's muscles tensed as he pulled off his shirt. The way his lips pursed when he breathed in, how his skin felt so soft when Merlin had held his stomach.

Suddenly, Arthur was sinking beneath the surface, his head still in Merlin's hands but he was almost vertical now. Merlin shook himself and tried to grab hold of Arthur who was floundering in the water. Eventually, the only thing he could do was hold him round the chest and keep hold of him. They were right in the middle of the river; each side was about fifteen feet away, so Merlin had to work hard to swim to the side with Arthur as well.

'Hold onto me' he murmured to Arthur who immediately clung to Merlin to stay afloat. Merlin kept his arms round Arthur as well. 'Are you alright? I'm sorry, I got distracted,'

'I'm fine, really,' Arthur replied. Merlin didn't let go of him, even though he was leaning on the bank, Arthur didn't mind, it was nice to feel Merlin's arms round him and his body pressed so close to his.

'Sorry,' Merlin whispered again.

'Whatever for this time?'

'For…for what I was thinking about,' he held Arthur's gaze for what seemed like an age.

'And what was that?' Arthur asked, tentatively.

After a moment where Merlin thought hard about how to say this, he realized that there was no good way to tell his master that he had been thinking about him, fantasizing about how many things they could do together in this river, in Arthur's chambers, in Merlin's cupboard of a room…anywhere. So he threw caution to the winds and moved, if possible, even closer to Arthur. He took Arthur's face between his hands and kissed him. Merlin closed his eyes, and enjoyed it because he was slightly scared of what was coming when it ended.

Slowly, he pulled away and waited to hear what Arthur would say, but Arthur said nothing, so Merlin looked him in the eye and said it. 'You,' simple, but powerful.

'What about me?'

'Everything, the way your hair dances in the breeze, the way your eyes twinkle when you tease me, how red your lips are, how strong your arms are…' he trailed off.

'Lets…lets try that kiss again,' Arthur suggested, breathless with excitement. Merlin half smiled before leaning forward and gently pressing his lips to his princes. Arthur brought one hand up to knot in the back of Merlin's curly hair, the other keeping them both afloat on the bank. Merlin rested one arm the bank too, so he could hold Arthur's hand. Merlin's free hand snaked down Arthur's back, feeling the ripple of every muscle, as Merlin's hand pressed against his skin Arthur felt his cock stir and within moments he was hard as a rock.

Together, they worked their mouths open, feeling each other's hot breath in the back of their throats. Arthur slipped his tongue through Merlin's teeth, stroking the roof of his mouth. Merlin nimbly wrapped his legs around Arthur's middle and stroked his chest. Arthur pulled away from Merlin's kiss and held onto his back with both hands, 'Are you sure you want to do this?' he asked, still breathless.

Merlin nodded and kissed Arthur's shoulder, breathing in the smell of him. Slowly, gently, Arthur slipped inside Merlin who dug his nails into Arthur's shoulder slightly. And then they were moving as one, Arthur's hands on Merlin's arse helping him lift himself up and down on Arthur's cock. Their breathing became erratic, heavy and thick as they both raced towards completion. Merlin came first and it felt like he was toppling over a precipice, he spilled out over both of their chests.

It was this feeling of warm come over his skin that finally finished of Arthur who exploded inside Merlin as he threw his head back. When it was over, all they could hear was the water lapping against the side of the river and their own breathing. Merlin pressed his sweaty forehead to Arthur's and kissed him gently. 'I never expected anything like this today,' he whispered.

'Neither did I,' Arthur replied in the same, husky voice. 'believe me, it's come as quite a surprise, but a nice one I have to admit,'

'I wasn't just talking about the sex,' Merlin smiled, 'that wasn't what I had planned,'

'So, what were your plans for tonight?' Arthur asked.

'Being close to you.' He sounded almost apologetic 'I thought that if we went swimming, the wall between us would come down. I thought that we would stop being Prince and servant and start being Arthur and Merlin. I wanted us to start being friends. I thought that if we became proper friends who joked and laughed and trusted each other, then maybe I wouldn't mind so much that I was in love with you,'

'Really?'

Merlin nodded.

'Well, I think it's pretty clear that we are far more then friends now. I've always had a feeling about you but I didn't know what it was. I didn't know if I just felt fondness for you as my servant or if it was something more, I've never been in love, never felt love before. So I didn't recognise it when it came knocking. I just needed to jump in with both feet and hope I didn't drown.'

They were quiet for a while. Just being with each other. Merlin stroked the side of Arthur's and Arthur listened to Merlin breathing. Neither of them had noticed that the sun had disappeared a long time ago and the sky was now a dark blue blanket.

After a long time spent just staring at each other they decided to get out, they clambered onto the bank and found their pants and trousers. Merlin took his shirt and folded it over twice before laying it on the ground, 'Aren't you going to put that on Merlin, it's quite cold you know,' Arthur asked, hunting around the dark grass for his own shirt.

'I know, but I'm not leaving just yet,'

'Why not?'

'Well, when I come for a late night swim I don't tend to return to the castle until the morning. I like to watch the stars,'

Arthur found his shirt and instead of pulling it on, he folded it up and put it next to Merlin's. He then turned to find his boots and put them in plain sight instead of scattered in the darkness, when he turned back, he saw Merlin lying on the grass, with his head on his shirt like a pillow. He pulled the rug over the top of him like a cover and squirmed a bit to get comfy. 'You joining me?' he asked, with a goofy smile on his face.

Arthur lay down next to Merlin under the cover, they put their arms round each other for warmth and looked at the stars. Eventually, they fell asleep together. Merlin slept with a smile on his face, reliving every detail of his night with Arthur in his dreams. Arthur fell asleep with his arm still over Merlin's chest, with the thought firmly lodged in his mind that although his swimming in the river was bad, he had jumped in with both feet and hadn't drowned so far.


End file.
